


Illiterate

by motheyes



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), he grew up in a cave give him a break, my boy learns to read
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-02
Updated: 2020-03-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:42:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22980022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/motheyes/pseuds/motheyes
Summary: Hyrule never learned to read.Sky and Warriors are excellent teachers.
Relationships: Hyrule & Sky (Linked Universe), Hyrule & Warriors (Linked Universe), Sky & Warriors (Linked Universe)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 191





	Illiterate

**Author's Note:**

> aaaAAA so it only took me almost a week to write this but here we are.  
> shoutout to yall on the LU discord (you know who you are).  
> yes it's short and bad, yes i haven't written fic in over a year. hope you enjoy anyway!

Hyrule’s boring a stick into the ground around a warm fire. Sky, a few feet away, stares into the dark night sky at the stars, and Warriors lounges on the other side of the campfire, reading a book. They’re on a rare break between traveling and fighting, and the others are all asleep or walking around the forest together.

Hyrule twists the stick around, etching a rough drawing into the dirt. It’s simple, barely more than a stick figure. Still, though, Sky leans over and compliments it. 

“It’s not that good,” Hyrule mutters, looking up at Sky. Sky smiles softly back. 

“That’s okay,” he says. “I think it’s cute! I can’t draw at all to be honest; always was more of a writer.”

Sky keeps talking as Hyrule looks away again. “I’ve actually been keeping a journal since I was a kid! It helps me keep my thoughts in order and all that.”

Hyrule nods, humming in agreement.

“If you ever want one, I have some extras I could give you,” Sky continues.

Hyrule flushes bright red. He’s well aware that he’s the only Link unable to read or write, but had thankfully managed to avoid the subject. Until now, of course. In his defence, he had never had a formal education, and didn’t see the need to bother with learning during his adventures. Still, though, it was embarrassing to be the odd one out for such a simple skill.

“‘Rule? You okay?” Sky’s voice cut into his train of thought.

His voice is small as he stammers out “I- I can’t. Uh. I can’t read or write so a journal is kind of pointless...”

Sky smiles softly, perpetually kind, and asks, “Would you like me to teach you?”

Hyrule’s eyes dart down to the childish drawings on the ground, and he stammers out a response, embarrassed.

“I mean I guess? If you’re willing to teach me-”

Sky is already moving before Hyrule can finish his sentence. He bends down to pull a notebook and pen out of his bag, and then straightens up, gesturing to Hyrule to come closer. Hyrule sits next to him, nervous, and jumps when he feels a hand on his shoulder.

“What are you two doing?” a friendly voice asks, and Hyrule looks up at Warriors’ face as he sits on Hyrule’s other side. 

"I’m teaching ‘Rule how to read and write,” Sky says, smiling, and Hyrule’s face somehow gets even redder, expecting laughter to come in his direction. Warriors, however, only nods and offers to help. Hyrule, relieved, turns back to Sky and nods.

Sky begins to write in the notebook. “So let’s just start simple, with the alphabet. There are forty-six letters.” He points each one out as he writes it, sounding it out. Hyrule mouths the letters quietly next to him. They go over the alphabet a few times, Sky gently correcting Hyrule’s pronunciation of a few letters, Warriors adding a comment here or there. 

Finally, after covering the alphabet and a couple simple words, Warriors looks contemplative. He takes the notebook from Sky’s hands and neatly writes something down.

“Here, try a sentence.”

The notebook is pushed back into Hyrule’s hands, an entire sentence written on an otherwise blank page. His brows furrow as he looks down at the paper.

“The…” Hyrule’s voice peters out into silence as he struggles to read the next word.

“Try sounding it out,” Warriors supplies, and Hyrule launches back into reading.

“The qu-i-ck- the quick!” He looks up for confirmation, and Warriors nods, so Hyrule continues.

“The quick brown fox… jumps… over the la- the lazy dog.”

Slowly, Hyrule stammers out the sentence written on the page. Grinning ear-to-ear, Sky throws an arm around him and hugs him, laughing.

“You got it!” he shouts triumphantly, and Warriors claps Hyrule on the shoulder, smiling.

“I’m so proud of you!” Sky yells, and Hyrule slowly smiles too, finding Sky and Warriors’ enthusiasm infectious. He laughs, and his earlier doubts are gone, and he sits with his family next to a crackling fire, laughing and smiling.


End file.
